When Love Costs Twenty Dollars and Fifty Cents
by giacinta
Summary: Eight-year old Dean wants to buy a gift for little Sammy. Brotherly fluff. Chapter Two.
1. Chapter 1

When Love Costs Twenty Dollars and Fifty Cents.

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Dean looked longingly at the shop window where 'The Extra Big Book of World Fairy Tales' had caught his eye.

Sammy loved hearing a story before he went to sleep at night, his puppy-eyes wide with awe as Dean recycled the same made–up tales over and over again, but now eight-year old Dean's creative streak was just about exhausted.

He needed new material to keep Sammy contented and the book in the window was the very thing.

Sam's happiness had been his number one priority since Dad had placed the warm baby in his arms four years ago. His little brother belonged to him now, it was his job to look out for him.

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He shouldn't even be here but Dad had parked the Impala across the road from the book-store at the grocery shop yesterday, and he had glimpsed the multi-coloured book while waiting for him to come out with supplies.

He had glanced down at the floppy-haired little boy sleepily curled up against him so trustingly, secure in the knowledge that his big brother would keep him safe, and a primordial surge of protection and love for the little guy tore through Dean like a physical manifestation. He had pulled Sammy closer while a shiver of fear mounted in him; emotions too strong for a child like himself to elaborate and Dean hadn't tried to.

However he did know that his greatest fear was that one day he might not be able to protect Sammy, but he sure as heck was certain he would die trying.

X

Dad had left them milk and food and gone off on a hunt nearby, warning Dean to lock themselves in and not go out. He had assured him that he'd be back in a couple of days at most ,and as always his last words were to look out for Sam.

John had pressed a few dollars into Dean's hand. "For emergencies," he had said.

Well in Dean's opinion, Sam needing new stories was an emergency, so he had put his little brother to bed for his afternoon nap, locked him in and run down to the book-shop.

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He lingered a moment in front of the window, then pushed open the door and walked up to the counter.

The middle-aged lady smiled down at him. "What can I do for you, young man?" she asked pleasantly.

Dean pointed to the book in the window. "I'd like that book, please."

Dad had begun to instruct him on how to make himself appealing to people in order to get their trust and make them talk more easily, and Dean used every occasion he had to practise, so he gave the woman his toothiest smile and widened his big eyes.

Sure enough she began to chatter. "Now let me just get you a copy from the shelves. It's a great choice. Lots and lots of stories to keep you going for quite a while."

Dean shook his head. "Oh, it's not for me. It's for my little brother; he loves to hear me read to him. He's only four you know, our Mom died when he was only a baby and Dad's too busy to read to him."

X

He looked up at her, his freckled face open and innocent.

The woman felt her heart going out to the child standing before her. There was something about him that moved her. It was unexplainable but there it was.

"I'm sure he'll love this book then. Just a second and I'll wrap it up for you. It'll be a nice surprise."

"Yes ma'am," Dean answered beaming up at her.

"There you go. That'll be 20 dollars and 50 cents."

Dean pulled the scrunched-up notes out of his jacket pocket and smoothed them out one by one on the counter counting up to twenty, but when he fished for the 50 cents coin that should have been there too, it was gone.

He looked up in alarm. It must have fallen out along the way. He had forgotten about the darn hole he had accidentally put his finger through the other day.

He turned his pocket inside out and held it up in full view of the woman. "The... coin must have slipped out," he said biting back a curse word.

X

He would have to try to soften her up. He had to have the book!

"What an I going to do now. Poor Sammy won't get any more stories and he'll be so sad," he began turning big weepy pleading eyes on her.

"I don't have any more money. I saved up for weeks to get this book for Sam and I can't go back to him without it. He'll just cry so hard," he finished off miserably.

X

Whether the shop assistant was truly moved by his childish acting or whether she was ready to settle for the twenty dollars, Dean would never know, nor did he care as he ran all the way back to the motel, book in hand, happier than he had been in a long time.

Sam would be over the moon when he saw this and Dean would bask in his little brother's happiness.

When Dad came back and asked about the money, Dean would tell him the truth. If Dad gave him a dressing down, he'd get over it, it wouldn't be the first time. Anything for his little brother!

He opened the door and walked over to the bed. He slipped onto it next to Sam and held the book in his arms waiting for him to wake up, anticipating the joy it would bring to them both.

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	2. Chapter 2

Priya723 suggested I write a second chapter, so here it is. :)

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When Love Costs Twenty Dollars and Fifty Cents

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Chapter Two

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Dean had never been one for the wide open spaces, maybe because he had passed most of his young life locked in motel rooms or rented houses, looking out for his little brother.

Yeah, he had crisscrossed the USA with John but that meant being closed in the Impala for hours on end; not exactly a hiking trip!

When he had come to understand that the motel rooms and the Impala were relatively safe from the various monsters that roamed the Earth's cities and countryside he was even more attracted to the security that buildings, salt lines and wards provided.

X

Today however he had felt the urge to get out of the stuffy room, and where it would usually be Sam who would be dying to stroll around in the open-air Fair, he had surprised his brother by offering to go himself; Sam's puppy-eyes had stared at him as if he had just said he was going out to dance naked along the streets!

Dean had rolled his eyes and stalked out.

X

They had noticed the second-hand Fair as they rode into town and when they came across one Sam would spend an afternoon wandering round the stalls stocking up on the cheap silver trinkets that could be found there. They'd melt them down into silver bullets. It was always good to have a cache of them in the Impala's trunk.

X

He'd already accumulated a pocketful of clinking jewellery which was weighing down one side of his denim jacket and was ready to hot-foot it to the diner for food and coffee to take back Sam, when he passed a stall selling old books.

His eyes were drawn to the section where the children's books were laid out, their vividly coloured covers catching his attention. He let his eyes wander over them, remembering how little Sammy had loved having stories read to him, even after the little geek had learned how to read himself.

"Dean, it's better when you read it to me. You do all the voices different," he would plead, those damn eyes of his weaving their magic and making him a slave to the kid's every wish! Even now when Sam chose to flash them, the bad-ass Dean Winchester that he had become, still succumbed!

Dean shook his head, what a weird childhood he had lived when his best memories all had Sam in them. Co-dependent? Heck yeah, even if he would deny it to the highest heavens!

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He was about to turn away when one of the titles jogged his memory.

"The Extra Big Book of World Fairy Tales."

He picked it up and in so doing allowed the forgotten memories to flood his mind. God, he had been around eight and Sammy a cute mop-haired four-year old. It was all coming back to him now.

Dad had gone off on a hunt, assuring him that he would be back in a couple of days and he had left a few dollars for emergencies; money that Dean had spent on a book of Fairy Tales, a book exactly like the one he was holding in his hands.

He remembered how he had been missing a fifty cent's coin to make up the total price but somehow the shop assistant had given it to him just the same. He had rushed back to motel and lain down on the bed next to his sleeping brother with the book clasped in his hands, waiting for Sammy to wake up.

The little shit had never slept as long as he did that day but when he did awake it had all been worth it just for the look of pleasure in little Sammy's eyes and the way he had clung to him saying that he was the best big brother in the whole wide world; Dean recalled just how awesome that had made him feel.

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They had hardly ever left the bed for the next two days, except to eat whatever was quickest for Dean to prepare and that was Lucky Charms and one of the bananas that John had left for them, curled up together reading their way through all the stories until Dean thought that his eyes would pop out of his head and his voice stop working from the over-use.

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He hadn't dwelt on what Dad would say when he came back from the hunt; there was no point in worrying beforehand.

When John asked him about the money and if there had been any problems, Dean had told him the truth, hoping that John would be understanding, but John hadn't been.

He'd torn Dean a new one. "That money was for emergencies and buying a book for Sam certainly wasn't," he'd yelled.

X.

Thinking back on it now, Dean wasn't sure if Dad had been so angry because he had used the money to buy a book or because he had disobeyed his order.

It had been a good job that he and Sammy had read the whole book for John had trashed it before bundling them into the Impala and moving on.

X

Sam hadn't said anything.

He was only four but he'd seen how angry John had been with Dean and he had pressed himself into his side on the back seat of the car, trying to comfort his big brother in the only way he could.

When Dad had stopped for gas Sam had piped up. "Thanks Dean. It doesn't matter that Dad threw the book away. We had read all the stories anyway. I'm just sorry he was so mad at you."

"Nah, no big, Sammy," he had replied recalling the words as if it had been only yesterday. "Dad'll get over it and I can still remember all the stories even without the book."

"Yeah but the pictures were really nice, though." Sammy had replied sadly.

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"How much for this?" Dean asked the vendor.

"You can have it for a dollar. Kids don't go looking for fairy tales any more," the guy answered.

"No, I don't suppose they do, " Dean agreed as he walked away with the book under his arm.

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He threw it onto the front seat of the Impala and went for food.

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"You get anything, Dean," Sam asked as his brother swept through the door.

"A coffee, a girly latte, hamburgers and rabbit food plus a book for your princessy self!" Dean grinned.

He put the provisions on the table and handed the book to Sam. He saw him furrow his brow in confusion as he realised what it was.

"The Extra Big Book of World Fairy Tales?" Sam read turning questioning eyes on his big brother.

"You don't remember do you, Sammy? Once you would have jumped somersaults for a book like that!" Dean said teasingly but his eyes remained serious.

"Sit back, Sammy, " Dean added. "I'm gonna tell you a story."

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